Fatigue Strengthening of Metallic Bridges using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer System. A large number of metallic structures such as bridges, offshore platforms and large mining equipment are aging. Retrofitting such structures is becoming increasingly important in the 21st century. Using an advanced material, Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), to strengthen metallic structures is very promising. This project aims to develop reliable CFRP strengthening systems for aging metallic bridges. I ....Fatigue Strengthening of Metallic Bridges using Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer System. A large number of metallic structures such as bridges, offshore platforms and large mining equipment are aging. Retrofitting such structures is becoming increasingly important in the 21st century. Using an advanced material, Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), to strengthen metallic structures is very promising. This project aims to develop reliable CFRP strengthening systems for aging metallic bridges. It aims to make a breakthrough in understanding of the fatigue crack propagation in CFRP-metal composite system under combined loading. It intends also to produce practical guidelines for engineers to strengthen aging metallic bridges.Read moreRead less
Planning and managing road transport systems for extreme events through spatial enablement. Transport infrastructure is one of the seven types of nationally significant critical infrastructure identified federally to ensure the continuity of essential services in the face of extreme events including terrorist attacks and natural disasters. This project aims to provide tools for determining the most cost efficient schedule of preventative strengthening works for road networks for reducing the dis ....Planning and managing road transport systems for extreme events through spatial enablement. Transport infrastructure is one of the seven types of nationally significant critical infrastructure identified federally to ensure the continuity of essential services in the face of extreme events including terrorist attacks and natural disasters. This project aims to provide tools for determining the most cost efficient schedule of preventative strengthening works for road networks for reducing the disruption and recovery costs after extreme events. The project aims to develop a novel platform for increasing the resilience of road networks by blending transport resilience modelling and structural health vulnerability analysis of road infrastructure into one integrated spatially enabled road transport planning system.Read moreRead less
Understanding mud pumping in heavy haul railroads. This project aims to examine the factors that cause mud pumping and evaluate the effectiveness of sub-surface drainage to prevent rail track instability. Fast heavy haul operations (such as loads used in mining and agriculture) impart repeated loads on the natural formation that can result in mud pumping. If the build-up of water pressure becomes excessive this can cause track failure. Through an experimental program and field study, the mechani ....Understanding mud pumping in heavy haul railroads. This project aims to examine the factors that cause mud pumping and evaluate the effectiveness of sub-surface drainage to prevent rail track instability. Fast heavy haul operations (such as loads used in mining and agriculture) impart repeated loads on the natural formation that can result in mud pumping. If the build-up of water pressure becomes excessive this can cause track failure. Through an experimental program and field study, the mechanisms of mud pumping, incorporating train loads and frequencies, will be studied, and the role of vertically installed drains will be quantified for improved practical design. The project aims to contribute to improved track longevity and reduced maintenance costs, with a corresponding boost in rail productivity.Read moreRead less
Environmental Interpretation: Towards a globally relevant model for communicating with tourists from culturally diverse backgrounds. Environmental interpretation, a widely accepted approach to communicating with tourists in North America, Latin America and the U.K., is based on communication research undertaken mainly by researchers in western cultures or focused on Anglo-Saxon audiences. This project advances theory and practice by critically examining the relevance of this model for communic ....Environmental Interpretation: Towards a globally relevant model for communicating with tourists from culturally diverse backgrounds. Environmental interpretation, a widely accepted approach to communicating with tourists in North America, Latin America and the U.K., is based on communication research undertaken mainly by researchers in western cultures or focused on Anglo-Saxon audiences. This project advances theory and practice by critically examining the relevance of this model for communicating with visitors from a range of cultural backgrounds. Environmental messages, communication media and the application of environmental interpretation principles are experimentally manipulated to evaluate their relative effectiveness in communicating with international and domestic visitors from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds, as a basis for refining the model for wider application.Read moreRead less
Mesozoic Austral Biodiversity: Research and Regional Museum Applications. The impact of environmental alteration on Australia’s biodiversity has poorly understood long-term effects. This project examines the controversial biogeography and evolution of Australia’s biodiversity during the Age of Dinosaurs (mid-Cretaceous ~100 MYA) and their adaptational responses to climatic change. Fossils readily capture the public imagination and thus help promote complex scientific concepts in the global media ....Mesozoic Austral Biodiversity: Research and Regional Museum Applications. The impact of environmental alteration on Australia’s biodiversity has poorly understood long-term effects. This project examines the controversial biogeography and evolution of Australia’s biodiversity during the Age of Dinosaurs (mid-Cretaceous ~100 MYA) and their adaptational responses to climatic change. Fossils readily capture the public imagination and thus help promote complex scientific concepts in the global media. This project raises awareness about sustainable use of non-renewable fossil resources through public education and ecotourism fieldwork programs; these will help generate local interest and thus protection of sensitive fossil localities by highlighting them as lucrative tourism assets for regional communities.Read moreRead less
Development of advanced deterioration model for the design of stabilised pavement bases. The Australian road network is a lifeline infrastructure that underpins the nation's living standards and economy. Much of these roads have deteriorated and require rehabilitation to get a new lease of life. This project intends to develop advanced methods to extend the lives of these pavements using in-situ recycling of old pavement materials.
Plastic deformation and failure of high strength rail steels in heavy haul transportation of mineral products. The Australian Government has made infrastructure, including rail, as a national priority for investment to meet the freight transport demand. This project focuses on the deformation and failure of rail in heavy haul lines to transport ores in the mining industry. The outcomes will be applied to ensure the structural integrity of rail infrastructure.
CEWAY: Cognitively ergonomic wayfinding directions for location-based services. This project develops qualitative models of wayfinding directions based on landmarks (e.g., 'to the hospital') and common spatial predicates (e.g. 'near to'). These models provide a basis for selecting salient features in different contexts and combining these features with vague spatial predicates. Such wayfinding directions require less cognitive workload and lead to higher success rates in wayfinding than current ....CEWAY: Cognitively ergonomic wayfinding directions for location-based services. This project develops qualitative models of wayfinding directions based on landmarks (e.g., 'to the hospital') and common spatial predicates (e.g. 'near to'). These models provide a basis for selecting salient features in different contexts and combining these features with vague spatial predicates. Such wayfinding directions require less cognitive workload and lead to higher success rates in wayfinding than current approaches. The project develops an integrated formal model of context-dependent salience and navigation under uncertainty. A demonstrator will be implemented based on the industry partners' software platform and data. Human subject tests using the demonstrator software will be used to verify the efficacy of our approach.Read moreRead less
Infrastructure project delivery: a life cycle evaluation model for public private partnerships. Governments continue to embrace public-private partnerships so as to obtain value for money and provide financial accountability to taxpayers. This project will determine the most appropriate way to engage the private sector in infrastructure delivery and develop a dynamic life cycle evaluation model to ensure projects are delivered effectively and efficiently.
A novel method for controlling microbial concrete corrosion in sewers. This project plans to use a newly discovered, low-cost and environmental benign antimicrobial agent to develop an innovative technology to control the development of corrosion-inducing sewer biofilms. Concrete sewer corrosion is a long-standing and costly problem for the water industry. Microbial hydrogen sulfide oxidation on concrete surfaces plays a critical role. The technology will be designed to prevent corrosion of new ....A novel method for controlling microbial concrete corrosion in sewers. This project plans to use a newly discovered, low-cost and environmental benign antimicrobial agent to develop an innovative technology to control the development of corrosion-inducing sewer biofilms. Concrete sewer corrosion is a long-standing and costly problem for the water industry. Microbial hydrogen sulfide oxidation on concrete surfaces plays a critical role. The technology will be designed to prevent corrosion of new concrete sewers by adding a precursor chemical into the cement, or to slow down the corrosion of existing sewers by infrequently (once every one to few years) spraying the precursor chemical directly onto the concrete surface. Potentially, the project will substantially reduce sewer corrosion.Read moreRead less